<p>The military has summoned an outspoken politician from the Pheu Thai Party to a military base for refusing to take part in the junta’s controversial reconciliation process.</p> <p>On 26 February 2017, Watana Muangsook, an embattled Pheu Thai politician, posted on<a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=594965884032979&amp;id=100005587187129">&nbsp;his Facebook account</a>&nbsp;that a military commander of the 21st Infantry Regiment had summoned him for a discussion.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The Bureau of the Royal Household (BRH) has dismissed a high-ranking police officer close to King Vajiralongkorn.</p> <p dir="ltr">On 27 February 2017, the BRH issued an order dismissing Pol Gen Jumpol Manmai, the Grand Chamberlain for security and special activities close to King Vajiralongkorn, from all public services.</p> <p dir="ltr">The order stated that Jumpol violated the 2008 Civil Service Act by abusing his position for personal benefits.</p>

<div> <div>Mahidol University has censured its human rights institute for demanding the junta cease its use of Article 44. The demand came after a follower of the Dhammakaya sect committed suicide to protest the junta’s ongoing harassment of the temple. </div></div>

<p>A well-known British correspondent with the BBC could face up to five years imprisonment for reporting on a fraud case on the famous resort island of Phuket.&nbsp;</p> <p>On 23 February 2017, the Provincial Court of Phuket held a deposition hearing on a criminal defamation case against Jonathan Head, the BBC’s Southeast Asia correspondent. He is also charged under Article 14 of the 2007 Computer Crime Act.</p> <p>The British journalist faces charges for a report about two foreign retirees who alleged that they were scammed out of their properties in Phuket by Thai women they married.</p>

<p>A provincial court in southern Thailand has dismissed charges of human trafficking filed by Cambodian workers against a Thai fishing boat captain and a fish market owner. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>On 22 February 2017, the Provincial Court of Ranong read the verdict&nbsp;in a case filed by Ranong public prosecutors against Banjob Kaenkaew, a fishing boat captain, and Somchai Jettanapornsamran, owner of a fish market based in Samut Sakhon.</p>

<div>Human rights lawyers have called on the junta to cease the use of absolute powers during the ongoing clash between authorities and monks at Wat Dhammakaya.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 20 February 2017, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) released <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=3520">a statement</a> calling on the military government to cease the use of special powers in its raid of Wat Dhammakaya. </div>

<p>After almost six years in prison, Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, a long-time labour activist turned lèse majesté suspect, was sentenced to six years in jail by the Supreme Court for royal defamation and another year for defaming a military general. &nbsp;</p> <p>At around 10 am on 23 February 2017, the Criminal Court on Ratchadapisek Road in Bangkok read the Supreme Court’s verdict for Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, labour activist and former editor of Voice of Taksin magazine indicted under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law.</p>

<div> <div>Monks and worshippers of the Dhammakaya sect have staged a protest against orders for the arrest of their spiritual leader, after the authorities blocked them from entering the temple.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 22 February 2017, Ai Petthong, a representative of Dhammakaya followers, <a href="http://www.matichon.co.th/news/472942">told the media</a> that the authorities have prohibited over a thousand worshippers from entering Dhammakaya temple. </div></div>

<p>Villagers from southern Thailand have filed a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), claiming that they were harassed by the military for a campaign against construction of a dam. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>On 21 February 2017, 30 villagers from Tha Sae District in the southern province of Chumphon submitted a complaint to the NHRC office in Bangkok after they were intimidated by the military for protesting against the Tha Sae Dam Project.</p>

<div> <div>In response to a recent report that labels Pattaya as the “world’s sex capital”, the junta head has announced a crackdown on prostitution.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 21 February 2017, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister and junta head, announced that he will <a href="http://prachatai.com/journal/2017/02/70207">order the police to uproot Pattaya’s sex industry</a>. </div></div>

<p dir="ltr">A provincial court has once again refused to release an anti-junta student activist accused of lèse majesté, even though several renowned Thai academics have volunteered to act as guarantors for his release.</p> <p dir="ltr">At 11:20 am on 22 February 2017, the Provincial Court of Khon Kaen denied bail valued at 700,000 baht for Jatuphat ‘Pai’ Boonpattararaksa, a law student and key member of the New Democracy Movement (NDM).</p>

<p dir="ltr">Despite being accused of several charges, a well-known anti-junta activist has insisted on his innocence, arguing that the junta’s orders are unlawful.</p> <p dir="ltr">On 21 February 2017, the Military Court of Bangkok held a deposition hearing for Sirawit Serithiwat, a well-known pro-democracy activist battling several charges for organising and participating in anti-junta activities.</p>